World's First

Last year UK broadcaster Sky announced it would launch Europe’s first 3D TV channel. It has now revealed that Saturday April 3rd will be the kick off date, with the broadcast of a Premier League clash between Manchester United and Chelsea. Football fans will be able to don 3D glasses in over a thousand pubs and clubs across the UK and Ireland that have already signed up for the 3D service as will residential subscribers with the necessary 3D capable equipment.  Read More

A team of scientists at the Tyndall National Institute in Cork, Ireland has created what they claim is the world's first junctionless transistor. The invention represents a breakthrough in transistors and nanoelectronics, and has the potential to revolutionize microchip manufacturing.  Read More

The award-winning French movie The Diving Bell and the Butterfly brought to life the memoirs of Elle magazine editor Jean-Dominique Bauby - the victim of a major stroke at the young age of 42, resulting in him suffering “locked in syndrome”, where the brain is active but the body is not. Bauby can only communicate by blinking one eye and, with the help of a patient speech theraprist, writes his memoirs. For other stroke victims or sufferers of brain injuries who have lost the ability to speak and write, communicating with the outside world can be frustrating. Guger Technologies, makers of intendiX, has created a home-based system where wearers of a special EEG cap can communicate via a computer with the special software installed.  Read More

It's been a long time coming. While Arthur C. Clarke's satellites have taken to space, and James Bond's futuristic mobile technology has become common place, still the legend of Icarus has captivated us and the dream of sustained personal flight has eluded us. But the future is here! Finally we can all take flight as Martin Aircraft in New Zealand releases the first commercially-available jet pack!  Read More

Two landmark water transportation announcements from Hobie this week could seriously supercharge the adventure and recreational marketplaces. Its announcements effectively means the company will be selling the first tribrid – a watercraft powered by a combination of three energy sources – when its new electric option becomes available in March at the same time as the much-awaited Mirage Tandem Island hits showrooms.  Read More

Love your music but can’t understand why it sends your cat or dog flying out of the room? Well, apparently it’s because your furry friend hears the high and low frequencies in sounds that the human ear can’t detect – so playing your favorite tunes can really irritate, disturb or even scare your pet. Here’s a clever solution that could soon have you both in auditory heaven - the My Pet Speaker. It reduces the unsettling frequencies of music - so it’s gentle on your pet’s ears - and lets you still enjoy the music you love.  Read More

Personal sex devices for women have been around for more than 100 years and, though they may not appear to have changed much, research used to create the ultimate device and technology embedded in them certainly has evolved. The taboo surrounding the use of women’s sexual stimulation “toys” has all but disappeared - discussion about products (and even their use) appears regularly on TV in sitcoms, movies and documentaries. But where are all the toys for men? Apart from old-style blow-up dolls – the butt of many jokes and attendee at many a bucks’ party – or the latest sex robot in Roxxxy, what else exists? The world's largest pornographic Video On Demand supplier, Adult Entertainment Broadcast Network (AEBN) has addressed this shortfall with the RealTouch – “the world’s first virtual sex device for men”.  Read More

Today’s projectors are great at bringing to life big screen movies in the home or creating large visual point-of-sale displays for the general public in retail environments. However, a couple of downsides to projectors are the noise the fans inside them make as they cool the lamp, and then there’s the difficulty in changing a blown lamp because of inaccessibility to the unit (which usually means balancing on a ladder with your head pressed against the ceiling. Norwegian projector manufacturer Projectiondesign has created the FR12 Remote Light Source (RLS) projector – launched at Integrated Systems Europe 2010 (Feb 2-4) - which relocates the lamp from the projector to a rack-mount enclosure up to 30m from the projector head. Light from the RLS illuminates the projector head via an innovative Liquid Light Guide (LLG) lead.  Read More

Imagine if you could take professional-looking photos and create 3D product animations as easily as using the office copier. Ortery’s Photosimile 5000 system aims to bring that capability to the office by enabling even non-photographers to create high-quality images just by pressing a few buttons. The Photosimile 5000 is a PC-controlled desktop photography studio that integrates a light box, a DSLR camera, automated camera positioning, and specialized workflow software to simplify and automate business photography.  Read More